“I’m Alex Cross, Washington police and liaison with the Bureau.”
“Good for you. I’m familiar with both your names, your reputations. Is our money ready as requested?”
“Yes, it is. The money and the diamonds are here at the Mayflower,” Betsey answered.
“Excellent! We’ll be in touch.”
We heard a click as he hung up the phone.
The CEO of MetroHartford exploded in anger. “They knew you were here! Oh Christ, what have we done! They’ll kill the hostages!”
I put a firm hand on his shoulder. “Take it easy. Please. Is the payoff arranged exactly as they’ve requested?” I asked.
He nodded. “Exactly. The diamonds will be here any minute. The money has already arrived. We’re doing our part, everything that we can. What are you people doing?”
I continued to speak in a soft voice. “And no one at MetroHartford has heard a word about where the money and diamonds are to be dropped? This is an important question.”
The insurance executive was frightened, and with good reason. “You heard the man on the phone. He said they’d be in touch. No, we haven’t heard anything about where to drop the money and diamonds.”
“That’s good news, Mr. Dooner. They’re acting in a professional way. So are we. I don’t believe they’ve harmed anyone yet. We’ll wait for the next call. The exchange is the hardest part for them.”
“My wife is on that bus,” the chief executive said. “So is my daughter.”
“I know,” I told him. “I know.”
And I also knew that the Mastermind seemed to like hurting families.
Chapter 61
IT WASN’T as if we weren’t doing everything we could, but we were at their mercy so far, and our time was running out. The clock was ticking. Very fast.
No aircraft had spotted the tour bus, and that meant that the bus had gotten off the road quickly, or possibly that they’d changed the alphanumeric indicator on the roof. The heat-seeking army helicopters hadn’t found anything, either. At twenty past one, another call came to the Chinese Room at the Mayflower. It was the same disturbing, machine-distorted voice.
“It’s time to move. There’s a delivery at the front desk for Mr. Dooner. Inside you’ll find Handie-Talkies. Bring all of them.”
“Where are we going?” Betsey asked.
“We’re going to be rich. You’re going to load the money and diamonds into a van and head north on Connecticut Avenue. If you deviate from the route I give you, a hostage will be shot.”
The line went dead again.
We had a van parked in the alley outside the hotel kitchen. The kidnappers knew we did. How, though? What did that tell us? Betsey Cavalierre and I and two other agents rushed outside to the van, then headed onto Connecticut Avenue.
We were still on Connecticut when the Handie-Talkie went off. FBI agents call walkie-talkies “Handie-Talkies.” So had the kidnappers on the phone. What did that clue mean? Was it a clue? Was the caller simply communicating that he knew everything about us?
“Detective Cross?”
“I’m right here. We’re on Connecticut Avenue. Now what?”
“I knew you would be. Listen closely. If we see any surveillance planes or helicopters flying above your prescribed route — a hostage will be shot. Understand?”
“I understand perfectly,” I said. I looked over at Betsey. She had to cut off air surveillance immediately. The kidnappers seemed to know everything we were doing.
“Proceed as fast as possible to the Baltimore-Washington Airport rail station. You and the FBI agents are to be on board the five-ten PM. Northeast Corridor train from Baltimore to Boston. Bring the money duffels with you. Bring the diamonds. The five-ten to Boston! We are aware that all FBI agents in the Northeast are available to you. Get ready to use them. It doesn’t matter to us. We dare you to stop the payoff. It can’t be done!”
“Is this the Mastermind I’m speaking to?”
The Handie-Talkie went dead.